Posts by admin:
- 1/4 pound butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs or 3 small eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Udon Noodles with Sesame Crusted Tofu
November 15th, 2009Last week while still being sick we felt like having something other than soup, you know what I mean. So I thought, what would be the next best thing to soup? Well a stirfry! Yes, a stirfry can have as little or as many veggies as one pleases and this recipe sure did not disappoint.
I learned a while back that my husband likes tofu so I was happy and glad to make this recipe a vegetarian one. It still shocks me the things my husband prefers to eat and what he will eat. He likes tofu because his grandpa ate tofu at Asian restaurants. How about that? Two thumbs up. I personally do not have that much experience cooking with tofu but when I ran into VeganDad‘s blog the last week, his recipe sounded convincing for a first timer.
First I decided on vegetables and modifies the recipe by adding a different vegetable that I like: bok choy. You end up chopping a lot of the vegetable, and after cooking it, it becomes so little. So if you chop up 2 cups worth of bok choy, you will only get 1 cup, so double up on the veggies. Here is a picture of the ingredients:
Udon Noodles with Sesame Crusted Tofu
serves 2
from VeganDad’s blog
2 package of udon noodles (i.e. small packages in Asian grocery stores)
1 pkg tofu, cubed
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp cornstarch
oil for frying
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
2 mini bok choy, chopped
1″ piece of ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Cook noodles according to the directions on the package.
Place tofu in a bowl and add sesame seeds. Toss until most of the seeds are stuck on the tofu (you don’t need full coverage here). Add cornstarch and gently toss until tofu is coated. If you still have some seeds in the bottom of the bowl, dump the tofu out on a cookie sheet and roll the cubes in the excess seeds.
Fry tofu in some oil over medium heat until nicely golden. Turn regularly to brown all sides. You don’t need a lot of oil here. Start with a relatively thin layer and add more as needed. Remove tofu from pan/wok and drain.
Add peppers, bok choy, ginger and garlic to the pan (there should be just a bit of oil left) and stir fry for 3-4 mins, until softened and fragrant. Add noodles to the pan/wok and fry for a min.
Add vinegar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce and mix well. Add tofu and mix well. Cook until sauce thickens/soaks into the noodles. Adjust flavours/wetness to your liking by adding more of any of the three ingredients.
Remove from heat. Garnish with green onions. Serve.
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Vegetarian Tostadas and Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
November 11th, 2009I totally did not feel like cooking last night because this horrendous cough is draining all my energy. I finally switched from Zyrtec-D to Mucinex-D. Some how I do not know why physicians try to pawn off their samples when they can easily prescribe medication that will take care of the issue. Such is the case when I switched from one med to the other. I have to say I feel SO much better. Even my hubby said I was not having as many coughing fits as I did the day before. Anyway, I finally decided to make something simple yet delicious.
My hubby likes Mexican food, so much, that he has requested homemade tamales for his birthday. Even though I am half Mexican/half Chilean, I do not tend to cook Hispanic dishes. I defer to Asian stir fries, Mediterranean dishes, or Greek dishes. Really! Well, one of the easiest Mexican dishes to prepare are Tostadas, which are like flat crunchy tacos. The preparation takes a little longer because this dish requires an assembly line. It requires many bowls and spoons too, so be prepared. Now if you have a carnivore at home like I do, then you can have ground beef or shredded beef as an additional topping, but otherwise beans can be your source of protein along with some mushrooms.
So I said I did not feel like cooking but I lied. I decided to prepare one of Alicia Silverstone’s recipes from her The Kind Diet book. I would recommend to prepare dessert before dinner so that you can dessert ready. It requires 2 hours to refrigerate. After we were done with dinner, I no longer felt like dessert! Sigh. Coughing makes me lose my appetite, but I had one today, so I gotta say it was a winner. The dessert is vegan so when I handed one to my husband, he nodded enthusiastically and said they were delicious. Who said you can’t somewhat convince your hubby to be vegan? Ha ha. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did!
Vegetarian Tostadas
serves 2
10 corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
1 pint sliced mushrooms (your choice)
1 zucchini squash, sliced length-wise
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of vegetarian refried beans
Your choice of picante or tomatillo sauce
Preheat oven to 425F. Place tortillas on cookie sheet, somewhat overlapping. Process takes 10-15 minutes to toast. Check at mid-point and flip tortillas. Toast tortillas until somewhat golden brown.
Meanwhile, grill zucchini and mushrooms and place in a side dish along with the sliced avocado. Warm to refried beans and place in another bowl. Place the shredded lettuce and red onions with the lime and season with salt and pepper in a third bowl.
Assemble: Take a tortilla and spread a layer of beans, avocado, veggies, salad, and top with sauce. Enjoy!!
Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
makes a dozen
adapted from The Kind Diet
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 cup crunchy almond butter
3/4 cup chocolate graham crackers crumbs
1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup grain-sweetened, non-dairy chocolate or carob chips
1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the almond butter, graham crackers crumbs, and sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among muffin cups.
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the almond butter mixture. Yop with chopped walnuts. Place in refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.
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A Perfect Sour Cream Coffee Cake
November 9th, 2009Need ideas for your next brunch? This Sour Cream Coffee Cake is one I grew up with. My grandmother made it all the time and is now a traditional breakfast or brunch treat.
Last weekend I was able to enjoy the time at my grandparent’s 50th anniversary in Blue Bell country. It is amazing to see a marriage for such a long time and it was a beautiful time. My grandmother had everything planned from the flowers to dinner reservations at the town’s best Italian restaurant. We had such a great time and the grandparents were pleased!
Many of the recipes that I have in my recipe index are my grandmother’s and I love remembering the good days byt making them in my own home.
On Saturday, the day of the celebration, my grandmother planned a lovely brunch. The recipes she picked out are family favorites and my grandmother knowingly plans to prepare these yummy recipes when family is around. I ventured in the kitchen with her and made the Sour Cream Coffee Cake while she prepared the casserole. This recipe might sound old fashioned but they are GREAT tasting!
Do you have a family favorite that you make often? Share it with me. I would love to know!
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients (10-12 servings)
Batter
Filling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream butter and add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and add egg mixture alternately with sour cream.
Pour half the batter in well-buttered tube pan. Add half the batter and sprinkle with half the filling. Cover with remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Bake for 40 minutes.
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Sweet Potato and Broccoli Soup
November 6th, 2009Sigh…both my hubby and I managed to get sore throats these past two days and it has been very crummy. I HAD contemplated taking a respirator with me on my plane trip down south but I thought I would look silly so I decided not to. Sure enough, I woke up the day after with an annoying sore throat. This is probably the first time both my hubby and I have been sick together, but we decided we were going to fight back. I mean we both still needed to work, so we have been laying it on thick with hot herbal, medicinal teas, soups and lozenges. I have been off meat for 2 days so I had asked my hubby buy me some vegetarian noodle soup but the stuff at the store still has a meat base, so I decided to make my own veggie soup.
I recently joined Twitter and I won a book from Eccorazzi, which is a “news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes.” The book I won was Alicia Silverstone’s new book called The Kind Diet, where “Alicia reveals how eating a plant-based diet will give you tons of energy, mental clarity, gorgeous skin and a renewed zest for life. Plus, it’s one of the greenest things you can do. Because it requires less fuel, water, and other resources, following a plant-based diet is a major contribution toward improving the health of our planet.”
It is a huge step but I thought I would give it a try, while I continue to make meat for the carnivore in the family. It was just kind of crummy that while venturing on this new time that I had to get sick! Oh well. I guess it inspired me to make a yummy soup that took 20 minutes to prepare.
Sweet Potato and Broccoli Soup
serves 2
2 small sweet potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped parsley
Place sweet potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Add the garlic cloves and boil for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the broccoli and continue to boil for 5 minutes. Add the parsley and soy sauce. Place all items in a blender and puree. Serve while hot and top with crackers.
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Ensalada Verde con Atún (Green Salad with Tuna)
November 4th, 2009
My hubby and I like many types of salads but sometimes it is hard making them because I get distracted with other options. I usually made salads for my hubby for him to take to school but then sometimes I would get caught in the whole preparation time. I had to wash the salad, cut the tomatoes, boil the eggs, etc. Whatever! It is pure laziness I say! Being healthy starts with the mind. It is a mindset and it is a love for one’s own body. I have had to ponder this question lately and decided it was time for some healthier, lighter options.
Ensalada Verde con Atún(Green Salad with Tuna)
serves 2
Salad
14 Romaine leaves
3 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 cans of tuna in water
1 cup corn
1/2 cup green olives, sliced or whole
paprika for sprinkling
Vinagrette
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Place three eggs and cover with water. When the water starts boiling, boil for 4-5 minutes. Drain water and place in a ice water bath to cool down the eggs. Peel the eggs and cut in quarters.
Take 7 romaine leaves,chop and place on a plate. Repeat for second plate. Use 1/2 cup of corn for each plate and sprinkle over salad. Place the tuna on the center of the salad and decorate the plate alternating with egg and tomato wedges. The whole olives can be placed on the salad or the sliced olives over the tuna as shown on the picture.
Mix vinagrette and drizzle over salad on each plate. Sprinkle with paprika and enjoy!
